As is known in the art, echo in networks, such as telephone circuits, is primarily caused by the reflection of energy due to impedance mismatches at 4-to-2 wire junctions, which are commonly known as hybrids. In conventional telephone circuits, echo cancellers (ECs) are placed at various locations in the network to cancel this echo. In Internet Protocol (IP) networks, echo cancellers are placed inside the network gateways. It is often desirable to characterize echo path(s). Parameters of interest include the delay associated with the echo path (EPD) of the canceller and the echo return loss (ERL). This information is useful for troubleshooting field echo control problems and network characterizations.
Field-deployed echo cancellers can fail to control echo for a number of reasons. Two reasons for such failures include the EPD exceeding the operating range of the canceller, and the ERL associated with the echo path being so low that the canceller categorizes the echo as the speech signal of the party nearer to the EC and thus, allows the echo to pass through. However, when troubleshooting complaints of echo in conventional or IP telephone networks using known techniques, collecting information on these two parameters is difficult.
It would, therefore, be desirable to overcome the aforesaid and other disadvantages.